1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a digital thermometer, and more particularly, to a digital thermometer disposed within a baby pacifier nipple.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recording a baby's body temperature is an essential part of the upbringing, care and preventative needs vital to a child's healthy development. The traditional areas for temperature measurement are rectal, axillary and oral. The oral method is the most precise for the lay person as the other methods require adjustments to the actual readings for an accurate temperature. An oral device is also less intrusive and upsetting to a feverish baby. A pacifier thermometer would act to soothe and calm a child making the procedure easier and resulting in more exact readings.
Several types of pacifier thermometers have been disclosed in the prior art. For example, conventional liquid column thermometers are incorporated into pacifier assemblies in the inventions of Doyle (U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,402), Hoy (U.S. Pat. No. 3,117,450) and Blouin et al. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,968,690 and 4,072,054). Berndt (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,447,164 and 4,511,265) uses temperature sensitive liquid crystal materials in the manufacture of pacifiers which can indicate an abnormally high oral temperature.
Electronic digital thermometers are wellknown and widely used, including use for the measurement of body temperature. Such thermometers have several advantages including fast response time, ease of reading and the lack of mercury or other potentially harmful liquids. It is clear that pacifier thermometers could be substantially improved through the incorporation of electronic digital temperature measurement. However, digital thermometers typically utilize a sensing element mounted inside a metallic shield, the latter being affixed to a rigid probe. This type of assembly is not readily adaptable to a pacifier thermometer.